MUSIC CITY INITIATIVES

Outreach

July 2019

Advocating for the development of an official music office or leading agency to spearhead Philadelphia music preservation and the promotion of Philadelphia as a premier music city destination,  Ronn Ash began outreach in 2019 to music organizations and stakeholders to convene support for the Legacy Project in preparation for the Semi-Quincentennial in 2026. Without a leading music agency to sponsor the Legacy Project, the PMHC was established as a 501c3 nonprofit organization in 2020.

A Plan for the Future

Strategies and Recommendations

Fall 2020

Drexel University provided the opportunity to work with graduate students to formulate a template for partnership-building as a means to facilitate an economic study of the music industry and a marketing strategy for the development a music city identity.

Photo: Neville Vakharia, Rachel Ward, Keirstyn Allulis, Ileana Fortuno, Caleb Craig, Elizabeth Sloan, Cassie Janowski, Chelsea Steinberg, Chrissie O’Brien, Jasmine Mathis, Tanner Richardett,

Jared Intinarelli, and Ronn Ash

Arts on Center Stage

Dilworth Park

July 2021

Sponsored by the PMHC and presented by the Philadelphia Music Alliance, the PMHC produced a concert series for Arts on Center Stage in July 2021. Highlights of the concert series include the historic collaboration between the Curtis Institute of Music, the Paul Robeson Museum, and the National Marian Anderson Museum. The Clef Club of Jazz performed a John Coltrane tribute with Bobby Zankel and students. Caliph Gamble and Brewerytown Records presented the history of The Sound of Philadelphia (TSOP).

Consultant & Executive Director

September 2021-December 2022

In 2019, the PMA was approached regarding the implementation of new technologies for the Walk of Fame. Ronn Ash then worked with the leadership of the PMA on organizational development, branding, and music history projects.

Legacy Project Award

June 2022

The PMHC continues to develop the Legacy Project as a community-based music preservation and promotion initiative. 

The social impact concept creates a decentralized, mobile music museum experience that connects music sites and points of interest along a heritage trail. Collaborative projects will promote the preservation of heritage sites, as well as generate revenue through tourism to music organizations and neighborhood businesses leaving behind a legacy of positive social change and community transformation. 

The Legacy Project advocates for the exploration of a permanent music museum in both physical and virtual space. This community-based initiative aims to leverage the public to invest in the creation of a collective music city identity.

Photo: Danielle DeLeo Kim, Ellen Hwang, and Ronn Ash

Recommendation Report to City Council

October 2022-January 2023

Participating alongside advocates to support the MITF, the PMHC was instrumental in advancing MITF's presentation to the Committee on Global Opportunities & Creative/Innovative Economy and City Council which led to the passing of Resolution 221042 in January 2023. 

The PMHC lobbied to enhance MIFT representation, assisted in organizing the pubic forum at World Cafe Live, and provided key testimonies throughout the process.

Photo: Jack McCarthy, Philadelphia music archivist and historian